The Evil Eye

Modern readers have a rather one-sided view of classical literature: what isn’t in school textbooks is almost certainly not known. Russian mysticism has long been associated with the terrifying fairy tales of Gogol, where the devil steals the moon from the sky and a bursak draws a chalk circle to protect against evil forces. This anthology will introduce you to other writers—unfairly forgotten or completely unknown to the general public.

A man in purple glasses who came to Moscow to buy an antique ring at an auction. A stern Cossack with bushy brows who, with a single glance, sends young girls straight to the grave. The ghost of an old woman living in a photograph from Egypt’s hall in the Hermitage. A rich nobleman, whose three wives unexpectedly died soon after the wedding from a terrible anemia. A forest spirit living on a New Year’s tree. Let’s meet the wonderful stories that frightened our great-grandfathers and great-grandmothers!